Unsettled

And in the morning: Today there will be a storm, for the sky is red and lowering. You know then how to discern the face of the sky: and can you not know the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. And he left them, and went away. (Matthew 16:3-4)

I woke up early this morning troubled. I went to bed last night troubled. Although I'm an optimist, I'm also pretty pragmatic and there were just too many things going on yesterday for me to slip into the realm of a Stepford wife.

Aside from all the incredibly devastating events in the news recently, just in my neighborhood it's easy to see that all is not right with the world and that there is quite a bit of upheaval. One neighbor slipped and broke his pelvis. The neighbor next to him, a diabetic, is recovering from having part of his toe removed. On the other side of us is a family with two young kids the same ages and my own. Mom and dad both lost their jobs late last fall. Mom was able to find another job...in Pittsburgh. She commutes back to the Twin Cities on the weekend. Her job is supposed to move to the Twin Cities, but no telling when that will be. Two other elderly neighbor ladies passed away last winter and their homes, right across the street from each other, have been vacant for some time. There are two neighbors having difficulty selling their homes. Our neighbors across the street are quite interesting, allowing their daughter to dress inappropriately, which is a huge understatement. Guess she's old enough to decide for herself, but after she moved in with a boyfriend and then couldn't afford it, mom and dad allowed her AND her boyfriend to move in with them. Now the boyfriend has moved on.

I went to the library shortly after dinner last night, before my homeschool group meeting. I have to say I was shocked that a man using one of the computers there was looking at pornography. In the middle of the library. How caught up in this must he be to set aside his own dignity to view this stuff in public? Perfect example of being a slave to our sin. I later told my husband about it and he asked if I said something to the library staff. I thought there was nothing they could do about it, free speech and all, but I guess it isn't allowed. Next time I will say something. I did consider giving the man the "stink eye" but didn't even want to engage him because I thought I would just get a sardonic grin, never thinking it might be a wounded gaze instead.

Found out in the homeschool group that one of the founders and leaders is getting a divorce and will not be able to homeschool her children any longer. I don't know this lady very well since I just joined the group, but this really bothers me. It makes me very sad. Growing up, I didn't know anyone that was divorced until I was a teenager. I did have a friend in grade school that didn't have a father, but from my limited perspective I assumed it was because her father had died. It wasn't until I was an adult reflecting back that I realized her parents were divorced. I didn't even know what divorce was back then.

My first encounter with divorce was when my aunt and uncle divorced. I was in high school. I just couldn't believe it was happening since they were my favorite aunt and uncle. Their divorce put a pall on the entire family for quite some time and makes me uncomfortable to this day.

Now I'm very sad for this homeschooling mom. Society is just so jaded to the subject that no one blinks an eye any longer. This huge devastation happens, families are destroyed, and no one seems affected (the other homeschooling moms were sad too, I'm talking about society in general). I must just be goofy, but is very troubling to me and foremost in my mind. Situations like this make me thankful for the graces God has given me and aware of just how tenuous everything in life truly is.

"And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

Tolerance

I was listening to Father Corapi last night on EWTN. He was talking about the difference between tolerance and permissiveness. This is a huge topic in my family, and probably in most.

One of the things I've learned from my aunt is to be more tolerant, more charitable and less judgmental. When I was younger, I confused her kind heartedness with being permissive, but then again, I was exposed to my father's family that disowned members for not marrying their own kind. I don't mean of another religion, I mean a Scottish Catholic marrying a German Catholic. Das ist verboten, at least it was strictly verboten several generations ago and the sentiment is still found blooming in various branches of the family.

My aunt never married and always found a way to ease burdens in the family, whether it was a crisis brought about by divorce, death, illness, or even financial hardships, she was there full of compassion and without judgment. That isn't to say she tolerated bad behavior, because in her own understated way, she always let those she helped know where she stood on the issue at hand. Tough love, but always leading with the love.

Now that I've had to deal with several of these situations and have followed my aunt's advice each time, even though it was so hard to bite my tongue and be the one to offer the olive branch -- sometimes repeatedly -- I see that this is why my mother's side of the family is so close and cohesive. On the other side, my father's family is splintered and quick to ostracize. I have nearly 30 cousins on this side and am probably the only one who has a good relationship with all my aunts and uncles. This is not to say I am necessarily close with all of them, but at least we aren't sending hate mail to each other.

Then we get to my husband's family. We disagree strongly on so many issues: abortion, birth control, living together, etc. To them, my position is intolerant, but hold on a second. Like Father Corapi said, he's for 100% tolerance. We are all God's children. That doesn't mean I'm going to tolerate immoral behavior...that's not being tolerant, that's being permissive. Big difference.

Like Father Corapi said, I don't want to stand before God and explain to Him why one of my children is in hell because of my permissiveness. I don't think I'm permissive, God help me, but I know I'm growing in tolerance. Tolerance abides all that is good, but permissiveness condones actions that are evil, immoral and against natural law.

There are those today who want to cloud a multitude of issues with claims that to disagree with them is to be intolerant. I'm not intolerant, just not permissive and there is a huge difference between the two.

Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Category: Church firsts

The first Catholic diocese in the New World was established in which country?

Demerits for using Google or other search engines! However, educated, and even not-so-educated, guesses are welcome!

St. Alex says, place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, say a Hail Mary and then call your earthly mother and wish her a Happy Mother's Day while you wait for the answer to be revealed.

May Crowning

Today we are heading to the Little Sisters of the Poor for the May Crowning. The First Communicants are all dressing up in their finery and the rest of the kids, like mine, get to bring a flower up to Our Lady. My hubby, mother-in-law and aunt-in-law are all going too. I wonder how this is going to go.

I've never done this before. I'm a public school kid and didn't even think they did this in Catholic school any more (this is with our homeschool group). I know when my mom was a kid, this was the penultimate event of the school year, especially since all my aunts/uncles got this honor (I forget what the boys got if they were top in their class). When I wrote the family history for St. Pat's 150 anniversary, I HAD to include this tidbit, since it held more weight than if you had achieved the presidency. Rightly so, I guess.

But, before all that fun, I am going with my MIL and AIL to the Friends School Plant Sale at the State Fair Grandstand. If you haven't ever gone before, it is huge. Gigantic. Ginormous. We are leaving in a few minutes to get in line to get our wrist bands (at 9am) so we can get into the sale right as it opens at 11am. We race home from this event to get the kids spit polished for the Crowning.

Needless to say, I will be busy this weekend tearing out the garden on the west side of the house and replanting a brand spankin' new one. It used to be so shady on that side of the house (because our neighbors had a deck with a fence) that no grass grew. Then they remodeled and tore the monstrosity down and now the west side of the house is very sunny. Out go the zillion hostas and other shade plants (taking them to the cabin) and in go some happy sun plants. Funny, my husband said he hated the hostas, just hates hostas, until I said that I was going to rip 'em all out and then suddenly he came to their defense and said they weren't so bad.

I think he knows who will be doing all the plant removal. Wise man.

Mid-life crisis

It's the beginning of the end

I'm beginning to get some grey hair. Well, that's not the exact truth. I'm far beyond beginning. Having kids, that's what did it to me. I'm glad I saved a cutting of my hair in it's glory days for my children before all this grey happened.

My aunts all have a cutting of my grandmother's hair. It's absolutely gorgeous, a deep auburn brown. I only ever remember my grandmother with grey hair all pulled up behind her head, but when I look in the envelope that holds her hair, it makes me remember how vibrant she was. Hopefully, the cutting I saved will bring back fond memories for my kids and they can remember me before I was all decrepit.

I used to be blond. Very blond, almost white. Then some weird genetics kicked in and I'm now dark brown with tones of red. Oh, and then there's the grey.

The mid-life crisis started two nights ago when we took the kids out for ice cream. As I was leaving the store with my daughter, a nice young gent held the door for us. I graciously thanked him and smiled my harried mom smile.

The next thing I know, the kid (yes, anyone of his generation is now a kid in my eyes!) is commenting on my sweat shirt. A University of St. Thomas sweat shirt. But, he doesn't ask me if I went there. No, no, no. He asks me if I have a kid going to St. Thomas. WHAT?!!! He thinks I'm old enough to have a kid in college? How old does he think I am?

Did I mention I also have wrinkles?

Hump day mindless wanderings

Time to lighten things up with some of those quizzes. As long as I was reminiscing about living in Seattle ten years ago, this quiz is apropos.

You've Changed 44% in 10 Years

You've done a good job changing with the times, but deep down, you're still the same person. You're clothes, job, and friends may have changed some - but it hasn't changed you.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

I always thought I should've been born in the 50s, and would've been if my parents had gotten married instead of dated for TEN years.

You Belong in 1950

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Sure enough, I changed a few of my answers and now I'm a child of the 80s, which is the generation I identify with most, at least some days :)

You Belong in 1987

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Live without a net

I lived in Seattle for nearly ten years. I've been back in Minnesota for almost that long. Hard to believe so much time has got behind me. In fact, today is my 19th wedding anniversary. Although it does seem like I've been married awhile, it certainly doesn't seem like that long.

It was shortly after I moved back from Seattle that I started to actually see how there was an under current to my life. A plan not of my own doing. We hadn't anticipated remaining in Seattle for so long, but the engineering job market had cooled a little and because my husband didn't have a lot of experience in his field, we were lucky to have a good job and a roof over our heads, so we remained pat.

Moving away from my father and my large extended family was hard, but in retrospect, I needed the distance to just be me instead of a perpetual caretaker. I also needed some time to see my mother's family for the wonderful souls they are and not fault them for not living up to my expectations of how and what they should've done when my mother was sick for all those years. Although I was incredibly homesick for the first year and grieved at the loss of my mom, time and distance worked wonders.

Finally, after almost ten years, the opportunity to move back to MN arose. Hubby moved back to MN first and stayed with my father while I stayed in Seattle another nine months to complete a project at work and to get the house ready to sell. Upon moving back, I took a year off and spent time with my father and completed a huge genealogy project with my aunt. It was a very blessed time, but I didn't quite see God's hand in all of it at this point.

I had always been close to my father, but in the year I had off, we went to breakfast once a week and I saw him every day on the weekend. I talked to him every day on the phone, sometimes it was several calls a day, just to share things that had come up.

My husband was wonderful to allow me this time to get reacquainted with my dad, but after a year, it was time to start looking for work. I hadn't been back to work at my new job more than a few weeks when I found out my father was terminally ill. Unlike with my mother, the prognosis was not good and he was only given a few months to live. Turned out he only had a few weeks. I took a leave from my job to move my dad in with us and care for him. He was only at our home a week before he passed away while holding my hand. I was so blessed to have had that time with him. So incredibly blessed.

It was at this point that I could see how all the dominoes had fallen into place. How God had some how wrenched me from my life in Seattle and brought me home to provide me with an uninterrupted year with my father. But, God had only just begun to grab me by the scruff of the neck. There was much more to come.

After nearly 15 years of marriage, we had a baby. And, then another one. Huge sweeping changes happened in my life and I was no longer steering the ship. Maybe some day I'll write more in detail about this chapter, but at least at this point, I had learned to just let go and hold on for the ride.

Now, it's happening again. Or continuing to happen. I had been a happy girl in Seattle. Good job, friends, no oppressive snow, in control of things which suited my Type A personality perfectly. I was in control. Now I'm so far outside my comfort zone I can't even tell you how chaotic the past five years have been. When we were going through the pre-marriage talks with Father Ince, I was very open and clear that I had no maternal feelings at all. I had no desire to have children. It's not that I wanted a career, since I had none at the time and I'm just not that ambitious! It was just that most friends I knew wanted to get married and have kids. They would've had the kids first if it hadn't been frowned upon. Not me. I just could never picture myself with kids. Ever, never. I wasn't going to use artificial contraception, but I just wasn't mom material. Open to life, just not ever expecting God would turn my heart and make me yearn for a baby. I actually sought out several priests for instruction on this because all Father Ince provided for advice was, "Have two (kids) and then decide if you want any." Not very helpful when I was agonizing over this dilemma.

Well, now I have two kids and I'm not sure where I'm heading. I can see some ground work being laid and will just go down the path where ever it leads. I don't have a road map or even any road signs, but off we go.

*******************
Prayer of St. Patrick
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, and in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

War of the worlds

Hold on to your hats, I actually went to a movie this weekend! I cannot even remember the last time I saw a movie since I just can't sit still in a movie theatre for that long. It could be Type A personality disorder rearing it's ugly head or maybe I have attention deficit disorder...or maybe most movies are just boring. There, I said it.

I went with a couple other moms to see the movie Expelled, not like the rest of my countrymen who were tripping over themselves to see Iron Man. I'm so not cool. There was a prior chance to see the movie, I guess it was a free advanced screening, but it happened to be on Holy Thursday of all days. That didn't work. Finally got to see it over the weekend.

NB: I'm doing a movie review here, folks, my intention is NOT to debate this topic so take it outside to another blog. I will say this however. Most people reading my blog know that my background is in science, chemical engineering. I worked in a research capacity in this field. That being said, I am a Catholic, I believe God created the world. But, the idea of evolution does not jar my belief in God as He is the Uncaused Cause that brought everything about. Darwinism stops at the feet of God, but fails to look up and see the Creator.

The movie is Ben Stein's platform, in documentary format, to illuminate how some scientists are being silenced in academia for their beliefs in Intelligent Design (which is not equivalent to Creationism). Not even a belief in God or any type of God, mind you, but for the pure mention of the idea of Intelligent Design sans any notion of the Judea-Christian God or even any other known deity.

I found a review online (I had checked with scificatholic.com, but no review, what's da matter, eh?) Here are some snippets from Hot Air's review, that saved me a great deal of typing and I can comment ala Father Z style, emphasis and comments are mine.

The documentary features Ben Stein on a quest to understand the near-hysteria (a wee bit strong IMHO) caused by scientists who so much as broach the idea of intelligent design in papers or in research. It follows Stein as he interviews professors denied tenure, editors fired, and journalists shunned for touching the subject even at its most innocuous levels.

Rationally, we have to admit that some use ID as an excuse to teach the more literal form of Creationism that has been used to argue against evolution entirely, especially against teaching evolution in primary-school classrooms. That admission does not appear in Expelled, which is a glaring omission (the film was talking about ID, not Creationism and was dealing with academic freedom, so this issue would've been good to mention, but is the subject of another movie...and I do believe this point was made by the Darwinists as they dismissed ID out of hand as Creationism). It tends to take out of context the frustration some scientists have about ID, and its place in polarizing the debate over its use. Properly framed, ID accepts all of the science without accepting its transformation into its own belief system.

What do I mean by that? In this, the film does an excellent job of demonstrating atheism as a belief system. Atheism as represented by Richard Dawkins and others in this film gets exposed as exactly the kind of belief system they claim to despise (exactly -- they truly do despise a belief in any God). They can’t prove God exists — and they can’t prove God doesn’t exist. They make the common fallacy of arguing that absence of evidence amounts to evidence of absence.

But in a way, this is all secondary to the real issue of the film: academic intolerance. The debate over ID vs Darwinism sets the table for a truly disturbing look at academia. Science should be about the free debate and research of ideas and hypotheses for duplicable results and provable theorems. However, as the examples Stein and the film provide amply show, the Darwinist academic establishment will brook no dissent from the orthodoxy — and scientists have to be shown with hidden faces to speak to the issue for the film (the entire argument of God and evolution aside, the intolerance in this arena is staggering).

Amusingly, Stein asks people how the first cell came to be. None of the scientists could give him a straight answer. Dawkins himself admits he doesn’t know and that no one else does, either — but postulates that aliens could have brought life to this planet, and then postulates that another alien civilization could have brought life to that planet, and so on. He then concedes that one entity could have been the original source … but insists that entity could not possibly have been God. For this he gives absolutely no evidence at all, relegating it as a belief system somewhat akin to Scientology.

All of this is extremely effective, as are the many allusions made to the Berlin Wall during the film (OK, here's where I thought it got a little tiresome. Stein is Jewish and understandably we can see his concerns, but the Nazi stuff was a bit overplayed. They did tie this in with eugenics, but only made topical mention of Margaret Sanger and her direct influence of the Nazi "eugenics" machine.) The theme runs throughout, and it explicitly refers to the defensive academic establishment as having built a wall that tramples on freedom of thought and discourse. Less effective is the heavy references to the Nazis in the movie. Although emotionally affecting for some obvious reasons, the fact is that while the Nazis were mostly Darwinists (along with a lot of other things), the vast majority of Darwinists aren’t Nazis. Certainly the eugenicists in Nazi Germany were mightily influenced by Darwinism, but America had its own eugenicists, which the film points out (albeit briefly).

Overall, though, the film presents a powerful argument not for intelligent design as much as for the freedom of scientific inquiry. If scientists get punished for challenging orthodoxy, we will not expand our learning but ossify it in concrete. Expelled: The Movie is entertaining, maddening, funny, and provocative, and well worth your time.

* Complete Hot air review with dozens of comments debating this topic...if you're so inclined

Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Category: Fashion

What was unusual about the tunic that Jesus wore during His Passion? (No, it wasn't tie-dyed)

St. Alex says, place your answer in the form of a question in the combox and say a Memorare until the solution is revealed. Or, better yet, work on the novena Vincenzo has on his blog.

Kneeler conventional wisdom

Haven't had much chance to think lately with all that's been going on except for some scattered thoughts -- just like the Conventional Wisdom Watch column in Newsweek.

The Holy Father's Visit
Thumbs up
Press seemed to skip much of the expected negative reporting. Re-energized many American Catholics. Viva la Papa!! Now, come to the Midwest.

Al Franken
Thumbs down
Thin-skinned Harvard grad can't even figure out how to pay incomes taxes in 17 states and we're supposed to elect him as our senator. Minnesotans can't figure Al out.

Round-abouts
Thumbs up
All over Europe, but Americans slow to warm to them. Why aren't the greenies jumping on this fuel and time saving idea?

Bridge problems and closings
Thumbs down
Knee-jerk reaction to condition of other bridges in light of 35W bridge collapse deserves a big slap on the hand. If these bridges are a crisis now, they certainly were a problem before. Deal with it, boys.

Weather
Thumbs down
Minnesota really is becoming a two-season state...road construction and snow plowing. Think spring.

City of Minneapolis
Thumbs down
What are they thinking putting the squeeze on Sharing and Caring Hands? Don't bite the hand that feeds.

Ordinations
Thumbs up
Father John Bauer's Thanksgiving Mass was beautiful. These new priests are amazing. Our seminary rocks.

American Idol
Thumbs down
Seriously, do we really care? Rigged, pre-planned, staged or whatever, I think I'd rather have a lobotomy.

UST Law School Dean
Thumbs up
Gives Planned Parenthood volunteer the smack-down. Who'da thunk the law school had some semblance of orthodoxy. Pleasant surprise.

MN third in drunk driving, WI first
Thumbs down
I do think I'm related to these people. Lock 'em up the first time. Throw away the key.

Changing of the guard
Thumbs up
Archbishop Flynn retiring with a list of pros and cons. Thank you, Archbishop, for leading your sheep even though I didn't agree with you at times. Welcome, Archbishop Nienstedt, you've got some work to do.

It's not homeschooling

Spent some time with my husband's aunt this morning. Why the subject of homeschooling came up, I don't know, but there it was. I got the preamble of, "I understand homeschooling and why some parents do it, BUT...."

Hubby's aunt used to work in a school, specifically in the alternative ed program where many of the kids are discipline problems or don't function well in the confines of a typical school setting. So, we know her perspective on things.

She was telling me about a mom whose son was failing even in the alternative ed program and she pulled him out of school to "homeschool" him.

IT'S NOT HOMESCHOOLING!!

For the next five minutes I heard the horrors of what this mother was doing..."I KNOW she is doing his homework for him." Well, folks, this IS NOT HOMESCHOOLING. Pulling a kid out of school for discipline issues or whatever garden variety bad behavior situation they may be in and letting the kid lounge around the house under the GUISE of homeschooling is not homeschooling and totally denigrates what serious homeschooling families do every day. They are not the same any more than getting your diploma out of a Cracker Jack box is similar to a university degree.

Homeschooling in this case is just a smoke-screen for a much larger issue, which many times is a dysfunctional family situation. My husband's cousin pulled their two delinquent daughters out of school (rather than having them kicked out) and said they would "homeschool" the girls. Yep, mom and dad both worked full-time while the teenagers were left at home alone all day. Bet they did an enormous amount of studying.

But, what do I hear about when the topic of homeschooling comes up? Nothing about the homeschooled kids who are academically kicking butt, instead it's the same snarky litany of abuses that some how gets grouped in with the people who are really doing an outstanding job of teaching their kids. Not just teaching academics, but morals, manners, social mores, discipline, virtues, you name it.

I just kept repeating to hubby's aunt that what these people were doing is not homeschooling. It's not homeschooling. If these people think they are "getting away" with something by bucking the system, the only thing they are really managing to do is academically short-change their own children. As Dr. Ray says, it's a tough world out there and what lessons these kids don't learn as adolescents will be dispassionately, and even harshly, taught to them by future employers, or law enforcement, or judges, or even criminals that have less of a sense of right or wrong than they do.

Whirling

Sorry I've been scarce lately. I've just been so busy that I can't get it all done...or even think of blogging. We were going to go to the cabin this weekend, but decided not to. Just too much going on. Next weekend should be better.

April has just been so busy, with the last three weeks with at least two appointments/events/activities every day. This week, I thought it would be a little less hectic until a kindly homeschool mom shared that there was going to be a huge garage sale for kids stuff this weekend where you could consign clothes. I got the e-mail late Monday and I was off like a Tasmanian devil trying to gather all the junk in my basement, sort all the stuff, enter all my items into their online inventory system, make labels as per strict sale instructions (white card stock ONLY!!), pin said labels on every item, sort every item by size, and make super darn sure there were no stains, rips, tears or missing pieces. I'm consigning nearly 200 items, so it is a LOT of work.

This is kid stuff we are talking about, the only time it is in perfect condition is before you bring it home. Sooooo, a lot of the stuff got sorted back into a bin to donate to my favorite place that doesn't care if I have a microscopic spot on a pair of pants or if they aren't a brand name.

Now my house is a complete disaster with all this stuff laying out in neat piles with the tags expertly attached. I have to haul the stuff to the Washington County Fair Grounds tomorrow and drop it off. This is the first time I've done this, so we'll see how it goes. I think some of my stuff will be rejected because it's not strictly spring/summer. Oh well, I'll save it for the next sale...if this one doesn't kill me first.

At least it was the last day of bible study for the season. I don't know if I could've handled another week. 28 weeks is just too long...it's practically two semesters worth of class.

If I just make it through tomorrow things should be better...until next Friday when there is the Friend's Plant Sale AND the May Crowning at the Little Sisters of the Poor. Not to mention that my aunt's neighbor is having her annual garage sale which I always attend and I even sell some of my items at. How did I ever get so busy?

Separated at birth

Axl Rose and his sharp bandana...........my daughter and her Spiderman pull-ups

Yes, that is a diaper on her head. Just try to take it from her.

********************
Sweet Child o' Mine - Guns N' Roses

She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I'd stare too long
I'd probably break down and cry

Sweet child o' mine
Sweet love of mine

She's got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder
And the rain
To quietly pass me by

Sweet child o' mine
Sweet love of mine

Chesterton Conference

The 27th Annual G. K. Chesterton Conference - Orthodoxy Centennial


Just got my flier in the mail today. I know Ray has already posted on this, but I'm pretty jazzed about the conference this year since there will be two lectures I certainly don't want to miss (Pascal and Austen) and many lectures that I would hate to miss :) We are fortunate to have this FREE conference here each year. But, I'm wondering who gave Chesterton the afro.

From the Chesterton website (and flier):

June 12-14, 2008
O'Shaughnessy Education Center
University of St. Thomas
St. Paul, Minnesota

A Chapter-by-Chapter Look at Chesterton’s masterpiece, Orthodoxy Plus Chesterton and Shakespeare, Chesterton and Pascal, Chesterton and Jane Austen!

Schedule:

Thursday, June 12
4:00–6:00 pm: Registration, Room Check-In
6:00 pm: Dinner

7:00 pm: Welcome

7:15 pm: Dale Ahlquist (President of the American Chesterton Society) “Introduction in Defense of Everything Else”

8:30 pm: David Zach
(Professional Futurist who has worked with over 1200 associations, corporations and colleges) “The Eternal Revolution: A Question of Progress”

Friday, June 13
8:00 am: Breakfast

9:00 am: Tom Martin (Professor of Philosophy at University of Nebraska-Kearney and Editor of The Examined Life) “The Maniac: Especially, Nietzsche”

10:30 am: Sean Dailey (Editor-in-Chief of Gilbert Magazine) “The Suicide of Thought: Intellectual Helplessness”

12:00 pm: Lunch

1:00 pm: Jennifer Overkamp (Doctoral candidate in English literature at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Instructor at Saint Gregory the Great Seminary, Seward, Nebraska) “The Ethics of Elfland: Fairy Tale Philosophy in a Gift Universe”

2:30 pm: Ross Arnold (President of Ross Arnold and Associates
and Teacher at University Presbyterian Church, Seattle, Washington) “The Paradoxes of Christianity: The Danger of Not Paying Attention”

4:00 pm: James Woodruff (Teacher of Mathematics at Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts) “Chesterton and Pascal: Not All Mathematicians Go Mad”

6:00 pm Dinner

7:00 pm: Joseph Pearce (Author of biographies of Chesterton, Belloc, Tolkien, Solzhenitsyn, Wilde and the newly released The Quest for Shakespeare) “The Orthodoxy of Shakespeare”

8:30 pm: Dwight Longenecker (Chaplain of St. Joseph’s Catholic School, Greenville, South Carolina, and author of 10 books, including Adventures in Orthodoxy) “The Romance of Orthodoxy: Why Heresy is Dull and Deadly”

Saturday, June 14
8:00 am Breakfast

9:00 am: Geir Hasnes (Bibliographer Extraordinaire and Norway’s Official Ambassador to Chestertondom) “The Flag of the World: Loyalty to Life”

10:30 am: William Oddie (Former Editor of England’s Catholic Herald and author of the forthcoming The Making of GKC: Chesterton and the Romance of Orthodoxy, 1874-1908to be published in November by Oxford University Press)“Authority and the Adventurer: Landmarks on the Road to Orthodoxy”

12:00 pm Lunch

1:00 pm: Sara Bowen (Columnist for Gilbert Magazine, and former board member of the American Chesterton Society and the Jane Austen Society of North America) “Sense and Orthodoxy: Jane Austen and Chesterton”

2:30 pm Small Group Seminars and Discussion

4:00 pm: Scott Richert (Executive Editor of Chronicles: The Magazine of American Culture) “It Is Not Good for God to Be Alone: Orthodoxy vs. Islam”

5:30 pm Mass

7:00 pm Closing Banquet

8:00 pm Traditions: Jokes, Toasts, Readings, Clerihews

This Schedule is subject to change, but so is everything else.

This conference is presented by The American Chesterton Society and the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas

Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Category: Potpourri

Who is the French Jewish scholar who maintained a life-long interest in and devotion to the Catholic Church, although she never converted?

St. Alex says, you know what to do, place your answer in the form of a question in the combox and say a Hail Mary until the solution is revealed.

The Pope's challenge to conservatives

I've been doing a little reading lately on some philosphers, namely Feuerbach, Nietzsche, Comte, Hegel, etc. Most people know the link between all these fellows...they didn't believe in God. I just wish the stuff I read would stick in my head beyond me setting the book down. Anyway, there is a pretty interesting article in the American Thinker that talks about the Pope's response to some of the German thinking in this area. Kind of alarming that Germany doesn't allow homeschooling and the UN is increasingly trying to dictate law in this country.

By Christopher Chantrill

The mainstream media seem to think that the pope's visit to the United States was all about the delicious priestly sex-abuse scandal and liberal agenda issues like abortion and women priests. Even some conservatives wonder about Benedict XVI. Last week Catholic convert David Allen Tate worried to host Hugh Hewitt about Benedict's background in German philosophy.

Conservatives are right to be worried by the Germans. Over the years they have managed to tie our liberal friends up in knots. On the one hand our liberal friends like to call the German pope a Nazi and conservative Americans "fascists," and this is considered the very height of sophisticated fun by advanced liberal humorists like Bill Maher. On the other hand our liberal friends take many of their ideas straight from the German tradition of Marx and Nietzsche, not to mention the Nazi sympathizer Martin Heidegger, father of existentialism and postmodernism.

At least Josef Ratzinger has an excuse. As a youngster in wartime Germany he was forced into the Hitler Youth and drafted into the German Army.

If only, conservatives seem to wish, someone had stood astride history after the happy year of 1787 when our remarkable Constitution was ratified in Philadelphia. But nobody did. In 1789 George Washington was inaugurated President of the United States and the sensible people. In the same year the French birthed the modern Left with their Revolution of the silly people. A smart Anglo-Saxon like Edmund Burke could immediately understand and predict where that would all end up.

Less than ten years previously the author of relativism, Immanuel Kant, had published his Critique of Pure Reason, and it was just coming into public notice in Germany through articles published by Karl Reinhold in 1786.

In 1790 a practical politician like Burke had nothing to say about Kant. Nor did anyone else. But 160 years later Russell Kirk still couldn't detect any response to Kant in The Conservative Mind.

Conservatives might hope to ignore Kant's relativism, but we cannot ignore relativity. Kant's notion that we cannot know "things-in-themselves" but only appearances leads directly to a physics of relativity and quantum mechanics.

If relativity is here to stay, then so too is relativism. And ideas have consequences. The relativist narrative of creativity and godlessness and its enticing apology for political power are the chief components in the "belief system" of our modern educated progressive class. Unless that belief system is engaged and challenged in its own terms its naive adepts will continue to believe that all opposition to its ideas and to its power is bitter-end bigotry.

The German pope answered this challenge. He had to. Josef Ratzinger is a German who came to manhood exactly at the moment, in 1945, when the proud German ideology of creativity and state power had crumbled to dust and humiliation and the most advanced country in the world lay at the feet of four foreign armies.

All the world now knows Ratzinger's personal response to the German national cataclysm.

It was his warning about a "dictatorship of relativism... which only leaves the ‘I' and its whims as the ultimate measure" before the Conclave that propelled him to the papacy.

But how should we oppose the dictators? His answer is simple and timeless. He proposes Christian love, as discussed in his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est," and Christian hope, the subject of his second encyclical, "Spe Salvi." If you read the encyclicals you will find that they are not just "about" Christian love and hope but utterly drenched in them.

Our progressive friends have been wrong about a lot of things over the years. One of them is the idea that Christianity is a severe "patriarchal" religion. The fact is that Christianity has always had a special appeal to women. There were women at the foot of the Cross. And today in the Christian growth areas of South America and China it is estimated that two-thirds of adherents are women. Why is that?

Lord Byron gives us a clue in "Don Juan:"

Man's love is of man's life a thing apart,
'Tis woman's whole existence.

Christianity is the religion of love. God loves you; you love God. God loves you so much he forgives everything and sacrifices His Son for you.

Our progressive friends try every way they can to entice women out of an existence of love. They teach them to scorn marriage, to coarsen their loving relations with "a sexual life," to replace loving service with a selfish "career," to abandon their circles of care and take jobs in hierarchical government welfare bureaucracies. One fine day even liberal women will discover just how deeply this progressive culture scorns them and denies them everything that matters.

Pope Benedict XVI is a role model for conservatives. He shows that you can engage with the German tradition and not just survive but come out drenched in Christian love and faith.

He's not the only conservative to have engaged German relativism. British conservative Roger Scruton, author of a book on Kant, has also dared to engage the German philosophers and lived to tell the tale. Jewish conservative Jonah Goldberg had to study the German canon to be able to annoy liberals with his Liberal Fascism.

What are the rest of us waiting for?

The Bronze Age

My 19th wedding anniversary is coming up in about a week. Very hard to believe that I've been married that long. Holy cats!!! And I didn't know how I'd make it through the first year.

And, yes, I was a child bride.

I was looking to find a gift for my husband and found that the gift for the 19th anniversary, while having no traditional gift associated for this year, it does have a modern gift -- bronze. How romantic.

Bronze is a copper and tin alloy that is believed to possess healing powers. With its positive effects on the bones and blood, wearing bronze close to the body is said to promote inner healing rhythms. Therefore, bronze jewelry is a symbolic and beautiful gift harboring properties of health and mystical beliefs.

I think I'll skip the bronze this year and tell hubby to save his money until next year since it will be our 20th and I can really hit him up for a gift then!

Hopefully, Father Ince, who was at St. Agnes at the time, is doing well. He came to our reception wearing a pin that said, "Stay single." During our pre-marriage consultations, he and my husband-to-be talked more about Boeing and aircraft than about how compatible we were. He also instructed us to make things look "schmaltzy" during the ceremony. Whatever that means :)

CBF - Bible Study

The next year's bible study has been decided on. We will be studying the Book of Revelation.

The day starts with a meditation and a decade of the rosary then we listen will listen to the DVD of Father Kauth speaking. After that, we break into our small groups and discuss the study questions from Catholic Scripture Studies.

Just a note about the children's program. There are two sections, one class for the 2-3 year olds and another class for the 4-5 year olds. Moms with younger children and nursing infants are in their own "Mom's group," which is their small group for discussion.

From what I understand, the last five lectures deal solely with the notion of the "rapture."

The cost of the study is $60 and the children's program is an additional $30 per family, not per child.

For questions about the children's program, contact Michelle at 651.484.8206
Any other questions, you can contact Joan at 651.426.8201 or e-mail calledbyfaith@comcast.net

My life in pictures

Last weekend, while we were at our cabin to attend my husband's grandmother's funeral, we got the cabin opened up -- heat and electricity turned on and the water heater filled. Before we closed the place up last fall, we got a big bunk bed set up for the kids. Despite my considering it pure folly, my husband thought that my daughter was old enough to leave her crib behind and take on the big girl bed, while my son was big enough to handle the top bunk. I knew better but indulged him.

Here's what I woke to in the morning...



Today I met some other homeschool moms at an Eagan park and we let our kids run wild. The place was full of pea gravel and I didn't know this was a problem until we got home and I took my daughter's shoe off...just one...part way.



Funny thing is my daughter didn't even complain or act like she had a shoe FULL of rocks.

Inflation or recession?

I just spent a little time searching online for Father Hardon's Catholic Prayer Book to give to my kids' three bible study teachers on the day of their last class (which is in two weeks). If I had thought of it sooner, I could've added them to my recent order with Adoremus, since they just had a 20% off coupon with free shipping I took advantage of.

I ran through several online Catholic booksellers and couldn't even find Father Hardon's book at some!! I know I could run down to my local Catholic bookseller (Leaflet) and pick it up, but thought I could manage all this from the comfort of my desk and was hoping to find a deal with an online seller (my grandfather was a horse trader extraordinaire so it's in my blood). I then searched the big name places like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but they only had it through second-hand dealers, so that means no discounts and no free shipping.

I then looked at Alibris and was astonished to find that my copy of Father Hardon's Prayer Book has greatly appreciated in value.

I can get the book BRAND NEW through Alibris (who would get the book from Adoremus):

Father Hardon's Catholic Prayer Book: With Meditations
by John A. Hardon
price: $13.95
Ships within 2 to 3 days
Binding: Hardcover Publisher: Eternal Life, Incorporated
ISBN-13: 9780967298900 ISBN: 0967298903
Description: New. 100% Brand New! -Excellent Customer Service!
Name: Adoremus Books, NE, USA

Or, I can get it USED from two other dealers...the same book that was only published a few years ago in 1999.

Father Hardon's Catholic Prayer Book: With Meditations
by John A. Hardon
price: $277.40
Ships within 2 to 3 days
Binding: Hardcover Publisher: Eternal Life, Incorporated
ISBN-13: 9780967298900 ISBN: 0967298903
Description: Used - Very good Satisfaction Guaranteed!
Name: More Books, FL, USA

Or, a used copy in even better shape...

Father Hardon's Catholic Prayer Book: With Meditations
by John A. Hardon
price: $320.86
Ships within 2 to 3 days
Binding: Hardcover Publisher: Eternal Life, Incorporated
ISBN-13: 9780967298900 ISBN: 0967298903
Description: used - Fine New or Like new condition. Satisfaction Guaranteed!
Name: More Books, FL, USA

At $277.40, I could buy nearly 20 copies of the book new, and at $320.86, I could buy 23 copies. Maybe I should sell my pricey used copy to Alibris (or More Books in FL), then take my profit and order from Adoremus and still have money left over :)

This makes no sense...

And I have a small collection of old books.

Things that go bump

A candy-colored clown they call the sandman
Tiptoes to my room every night
Just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper
Go to sleep, everything is all right.

I had a weird dream months ago that has stuck with me. While it was scary enough, it wasn't terrifying. I would describe it as more profound, just because I still think about it. No, I don't think that within my dream there is some hidden message that needs to be discerned. It is what it is, a dream.

It was a nice spring day, sun shining and warm. I stopped by St. Peter's Catholic Church in North St. Paul. Why? I don't know. I haven't been to this church in years, the last time was for the funeral of my uncle's mother. Other than that, I don't know why the dream took place at this location.

The parish was having some sort of "educational event" in their newly remodeled church (which hasn't been remodeled in real life as far as I know), with some seminars and lectures, primarily for women. One older lady was very welcoming to me and encouraged to me check out their lectures and to stay for Mass, which was going to be starting in just a few minutes.

I was handed some fliers and she led me into the church, which was really just a hall with chairs scattered throughout, kind of arranged in concentric circles. As I came in the door, there was a portable bar (the kind you see at weddings) covered in white linen. I quickly realized this was the altar. On the altar was a small bowl filled with tortilla chips, which I understood were to be consecrated as the hosts for Mass. The woman who was escorting me offered me a can of pop from a large vat filled with ice and also some chips that weren't "hosts," but would tide me over until Communion.

I couldn't believe it. I began telling the woman (and citing a variety of documents, even though I couldn't do this is real life!) just how wrong this was. I was incredulous. She was offended that I would question their practices. I then demanded to know where the priest was that would perform such a Mass. She motioned to a group of men sitting off to the side of the "altar." I asked the plain-clothed "priest" how he could allow this to happen and again stated how wrong it was. He just shrugged his shoulders. I was making a scene and everyone was looking at me like I was nuts. I then told the priest that I was staying and would keep my eye on him.

With my chips and pop in hand, I found a seat not too far back from the "altar." But, before Mass started, the priest was suddenly standing right in front of me, now adorned in his vestments. This time, however, his face was terrifying, green and leathery. He was very angry that I was interfering and how dare I question him. I was ruining the Mass. He was hurling accusations at me, some not even being coherent. I immediately began to pray out loud, "In the name of the Precious Blood of Jesus I demand that you leave me alone." Which I kept repeating over and over because I knew if I stopped something bad was going to happen. Then his face turned white, like ice and was flaky and cold. I kept up with my prayer and knew it was time to take my leave. I stood and brushed past this "priest" on my way out the door, still praying out loud as I left.

Then I woke up.

And, no, I don't recall what I had for dinner that night, nor have I seen the Exorcist!

So, how have your dreams been? Have you attended the same parish I did?

Deployment update

My brother has been activated for 400 days for his second deployment and is heading out to Germany in mid-May. Then it's on to Kuwait in mid-June for awhile before going to Iraq. From what I understand, he will not be in Baghdad and his job will not require him to be out and about much. However, I will not be visiting them this May as planned as it is just too hectic.

Now with Father Echert on his way to Germany, I wonder if there isn't something going on behind the scenes here ;} Although the chances they will run into each other are very remote, it would be cool if their paths crossed and Father was able to talk some sense into my brother. Please keep my brother, his family, Father Echert, and all our soldiers, in your prayers.

For a nice article on Father Echert that was on the front page of the St. Paul paper (with ten great pics), check out:

* Home and abroad, a uniformed ministry. Preparing for his fourth deployment as a military chaplain, the Rev. John Paul Echert III combines two lifelong passions.

The funeral

It was a cold, wet and muddy day that reminded me of Seattle. The feeling at the cemetery was somber, but also awkward. I'm a little bit out of sorts about the whole thing, disillusioned and angry. A therapist undoubtedly would tell me to not trouble myself about the entire situation since the only person I can change is myself. This is something I've learned first-hand since I grew up in a family that has seen a great deal of suffering and death. I know that people don't always make good choices, they do crazy things when confronted by tough circumstances, but there is a point when pragmatism comes right up against human decency and sensibility.

As I stood graveside I had a smattering of different feelings.

There were less than 15 people at graveside for the service, including the pastor and the funeral home representatives. As I got out of the car, I was greeted by the pastor who was dressed in a black suit and priest's collar. I knew he wasn't a priest and had reminded myself repeatedly of that. I don't think I've ever addressed a "man of the cloth" before that hasn't been a priest. But, as I shook his hand, I just instinctively said, "Nice to meet you, Fath...." I didn't correct myself, figuring that would just draw more attention to the slip.

As we stood in the slight rain, the pastor started the short service, which began, "In the name of the Father..." Of course, I instinctively blessed myself, as did my husband and son, which caused everyone else to follow suit and they blessed themselves too. I think it jarred the pastor because, as my husband told me years ago and also reminded me shortly after the service, Lutherans (along with most other Protestant groups) do not make the sign of the cross. It was amusing that my husband's family has become so secular that they didn't even know this wasn't a Lutheran thing to do.

As the pastor did the readings and his homily, my mind was wondering why he was standing there graveside. I have a difficult time understanding how a person who has read the bible can be Protestant, especially an educated pastor or minister. Scales on their eyes. As the pastor began his short homily, I found myself disagreeing with so much of what he said. According to him, God, upon her baptism, had claimed my husband's grandmother as His own and He would never leave her, implying that if you are baptized you cannot lose your salvation. Absolutely true about God's fidelity, but only partially complete. The entire Old Testament tells how God repeatedly gave the Israelites another chance and made covenants with them. God was always faithful to the covenants, it was the Israelites that broke the covenants and turned their back on God. Then he went on to say that my husband's grandmother was in Heaven. Not just maybe, or probably, but that she was seeing God face-to-face. Why do we even need the New Testament if Jesus' death, resulting in our subsequent salvation, is the period at the end of the sentence? What more could we possibly add to that?

Martin Luther has given people a way to rationalize bad behavior. Gone are the charitable acts of mercy, like visiting the sick and home bound. Instead, you can bring flowers to the grave and wipe your hands of it. Stand graveside and cry, but never have given the person a second thought when they were alive. My nephews and sister-in-law didn't even attend the service. They had tennis and hockey, to which my mother-in-law replied that she understood. What did she understand? The secular notion that gives people a pass to be self-absorbed? Even if you neglect acts of human kindness you're still going to Heaven, so why trouble yourself.

Hopefully, I will make it to Purgatory one day. I also hope Martin Luther is there just so I can smack him upside the head. The additional time spent in Purgatory would be well worth it. Heck, I might even kick him in the shins too.

Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Category: Authors

Aside from being well-known authors, what do:

Charles Dickens
Edgar Allen Poe
Mark Twain
Louisa May Alcott
James A. Michener
Leo Tolstoy

have in common?

St. Alexander says to place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, say a decade of the rosary and wait for the answer.

NB: We are going to be gone this weekend for my husband's grandmother's funeral, so I don't know what computer access I'll have before Sunday night. Say a few rosaries while you wait :)

The city

not big on sharing or caring

Sharing and Caring Hands needs our support. Mary Jo Copeland, our Twin Cities version of Mother Teresa, has been recognized for her work by the White House and the Vatican, but the city wants her facility closed so folks on their way to the new Twins ballpark don't have to be bothered with the kind of folks Mary Jo helps every day.

Those of us in the Twin Cities need to let Minneapolis know how wrong this is. Please call the major's office and let him know your thoughts.
Contact Mayor R.T. Rybak’s policy aide, Erica Prosser at 612-673-2133 or email her at erica.prosser@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

Check out the local bloggers posts on the topic:

Stella Borealis
Abbey Roads

Star Tribune
WCCO